Oklahoma officials tout economics of quail hunt

At a recent coat-and-tie social event at Enid's Oakwood Country Club, Gov. Mary Fallin, Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb and Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead each gave a nod to the hunting tradition and similarities between the Western states, but they also brought a message to a crowd of several hundred hunters and their spouses that Oklahoma is a good place to live and work.

Fallin noted that she has been to the Grand National several times in the past, when she was lieutenant governor, and that she, too, is a hunter. She also dropped a strong hint to Mead that she has not yet been invited to Wyoming for that state's One-Shot Antelope Hunt, the event after which that the Grand was modeled.

In her pitch to out-of-state guests she noted Oklahoma has a strong economy with relatively low unemployment and a strong energy, agriculture and manufacturing presence. "This is one of the most pro-business states in the nation and we're very proud of that," she said. "If any of you might have an opportunity to move a company and want to come to a state that is financially sound and doing very, very well, we'd like to talk to you."

Fallin later said events like the Grand National are important for economic development, noting she had her own Lieutenant Governor's Turkey Hunt for many years and last year held her own deer hunting event.

Lt. Gov. Lamb, born and raised in Enid, said, "Hunting, outdoors, that is part of Wyoming tradition, Oklahoma tradition and, more importantly, we want it to continue to be a part of American tradition. It is historic, it is important, it is to me the connection with a way to continue our American way of life and so I support it in every way I can."

Turkey hunting is wildly popular, with millions of hunters heading to the woods each year in pursuit of this wily game bird. But the sport of turkey hunting looks nothing like it did 40 years ago, and there are several factors which have contributed to this growth.

An Oregon Senate committee will hear public testimony on a proposal by gun-control advocates to require a background check any time someone sells or gives a firearm to another person who isn't a relative.

The tournament is expected to draw competitors from 60 countries. “...we're hosting people from all over the world. Everything we do may seem strange to them, and many of their customs may seem strange to us,” officials said.

It could be a good year for gun rights and gun owners. The state Legislature is proposing to make Florida one of the few states offering tax breaks for purchasers of guns, ammunition and gun club memberships.

A Colorado lawmaker who has called for the state to add a summer month to the hunting season for black bears will instead try to persuade officials to study bear overpopulation and how to reduce conflicts with humans.

The 2015 Louisiana turkey season could provide a bumper crop for hunters looking for a free meal. Bad weather last winter meant fewer than the normal number of birds were taken, so hunters who missed a bird in 2014 should have better luck this time around.

The ATF giveth and the ATF taketh away. That’s the moral of the story of the SB-15 Pistol Stabilizing Brace which launched a revolution in the AR-style pistol market that in less than one year has collapsed into uncertainty.